TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Looks like we're going to try this, which boat?

If we decide on a boat, the wife takes over, she'll have me asking all kinds of questions. Until then: 2015 Nautitech 40 Open (3 cabin), 2014 Lagoon 400 S2 (4 cabin) or 2010-2012 Footloose 39 (3 cabin). All three with different brokers, not sure of the marinas they charter from. I have concerns in some places, but don't think it's really going to matter, we would be happy with anything! But, if there is/was something about one that you do/did NOT like, I'd love to hear it. All three have AC. Thanks again!!

Well I've chartered both the Open 40 and the 3900, both good and similar boats. I would charter either again, which one would depend on your priorities. PM me and we can talk. Andy

I like the 2014 lagoon 400 S2. I have sailed on that boat. Lots of space. Nice boat. No comment on the others.

Thanks Warren, that's where our "gut" was taking us, about to try and wrap this thing up.

Lagoon 400 S2 would be my choice of the above.

I'd check out the new Voyage 480..lovely boat..sailed her with Chris and Tracy here..

While you've got some thoughts already, I'd suggest you provide a couple of additional details such as total number aboard, relationships (family with kids, 3 couples, etc.) in order to provide some informed feedback from this board. Certainly, that would be critical information which I'm certain you've provided to brokers - and for good reason.

Lastly, you might want to provide detail on which boats are coming from which charter companies as that also makes a difference - not all charter companies are created equally!

Good luck in your search and trip.

Hello! This is the wife of EckyEcky-I'm hijacking his thread. Ready to make a decision. We are a family of four-husband and wife and two college kids. We have narrowed down our search to a Lagoon 39 from Footloose with ac/gen or a Lagoon 400s2 from Owner Time Charters-boat is supposedly at Dream. Both of these make me nervous for different reasons. Age and condition of boat at Footloose vs going through "Owner Time Charters"-Jenny Goya-Has anyone rented through them or know if this is a legit company? Having two kids in college, one who is studying abroad at the moment, makes our budget a little less than we would like. However, if we need to stretch a bit, please weigh in. Obviously, we want to feel secure that we are getting a good boat in good working condition from a reputable and trustworthy company. We've decided that AC is a priority-we live on the gulf coast and 'hot and humid' is our middle name-used to it, but don't want to sleep in it on vacation! We have also looked at a Nautitech Open 40 through LateSail. We don't have to live in the lap of luxury, but want it to be a great family vacation. I'm kind of a stickler for cleanliness...so, any honest opinions or feedback on these two boats and the charter companies would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much,
the wife

I agree with Manpot on Voyage.

Their boats are well kept and clean. We also like that they are easiest to get to from St Thomas. Less time on the ferry, more time on the boat.

The Riteway at West End is right by the boat and also a clean grocery. We use it for fresh items and have heavier items delivered by Bobbys.

Internet on Voyage boats was reliable and affordable (i.e. NOT $40/day)

We liked Voyage better than Moorings.

I used Owner Time Charters last year and will use again this May. Everything worked fine. Dream Yachts treated me like a regular charterer. Questions?

Thanks Del, needed to hear that. Only question now is Maya Cove, Hodges Creek Marina? Is provisioning a problem out of this area and is there a decent restaurant for that first night? Wife says she read somewhere there is not much there and the dining options are pretty poor. If we forgot some "crucial" items and had to run to the store the morning we left, would this be an issue?

The restaurant at the marina is not very good. I would make other arrangements. We usually just make sure that we provision enough (or have it in our carry on cooler) for a quick sandwich or even cheese and crackers. It's nice to stay put once you have had a day of travel. But that's just us!
You will like DYC, they are well run by the dock master - Yann. Enjoy!

My wife had kind of figured that out, I was just hoping things might have gotten a bit better. After reading some other thread about the place, (along with multiple mentions of the name Bali), I've kind of lost that excited feeling I had a week or so ago. But hey, I'm a regular damn Griswald!! I'll have everybody whistling Zippity Doo Dah out of their...maybe there is a large ball of twine we can get excited about! Don't worry, we'll have the portable speaker ready when the blue tooth on the boat crashes. Adele's Hello will be on the playlist ready to solve any emotional problems that arise...

And again in June <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

Yes indeed..so looking forward to it..I was looking at " Endless Summer" at Voyage yesterday..still beautiful and waiting for us to get her flying again..

I'm ready....but a whole lot of people want their taxes done first! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/smashpc.gif" alt="" />

Ecky ecky,
Did u end up chartering through Jenny Goya/owner Time charters and if so how was your experience? I can’t find any reviews on them and trying to confirm if it’s legit- usually if something is too good to be true it usually is. Please advise on who u went through and what your experience was! Thanks!!!!

FWIW, I chartered a boat through Jenny Goya a few years ago. It was a Lagoon 520 from DYC, though the company ended up substituting a Saba 50 in its place - which was no fault of Jenny’s. They claimed it was a maintenance issue, but I swear we crossed paths with the boat we were supposed to be on a few days into our charter. It appeared to me that it was doing a captained charter with a large number of guests. I can’t really speculate as to what really happened, but I guess we got a more or less comparable boat to the lagoon. In any case, it was still a successful charter and Jenny was easy to work with. We made the charter payments directly to the owner of the boat, but other than that it went off just like any other charter. I was able to call the charter company after reserving to boat through Jenny, but before sending in the deposit, to confirm it was all legit and the person we were paying was the actual owner of the boat. I would have no problem working with Jenny again - or chartering directly from and owner as long as I am able to do a bit of due diligence to make sure it’s all on the up and up.

Matt

Edit: I don’t know if Jenny was with owner time charters or not when I worked with her so I can’t really comment about that company specifically. We found the boat on sailonline and Jenny was working as representative for the owner.

No offense to your broker. But the company is more important than the boat almost always.

Thanks for the info Matt!

Amyriff, we did go through Jenny Goya, Ownertimes Charters. Just as Matt said above except we got the boat we chartered. Paid the owner directly. Jenny was a pleasure to deal with, also very helpful with respect to other questions we had. If the situation was right for us, we would use her again. We were close to a deal with her for our trip this past July, but we decided to try a trip out of St Thomas instead. I'm pretty sure everything she books goes out of DYC, Hodges's Creek Marina, Tortola.

Have a great trip!
EckyEcky

Thanks so much for responding!!!

hey Amyriff- I recently booked a "crewed" charter with Owner Time Charters for January. It's going to be my first time in BVI and I found Jenny Goya's contact info after looking through VRBO. Honestly- Jenny has been great. I have nothing but good things to say about working with her. I've called and spoken to her multiple times since booking with travel questions, itinerary tips and stuff. If you're still on the fence, I recommend going through her.
True, I haven't yet actually gone on the trip yet! But I can attest to how smooth the whole process has been so far. Jenny's worked with me to tailor-make the vacation for me and she's always on-hand. I'll check back in after my trip this winter and let you know how it went

When you book through Owner Time, who do you deal with if you have issues once there? DYC?

We booked owner’s time in June. Once there, you work directly with DYC. We had a couple of minor issues that were found during the checkout out they were addressed promptly. Make sure that you have the base managers phone number before you depart the base. We had a small issue with the dingy motor and I called the maintenance number in the afternoon and left a message. No response. I called the next morning and left another message. No response. I called the manager and there were two different maintenance boats there within an hour of each other.

Hi "The Wife," AKA "She Who Must Be Obeyed:"

Thank you on behalf of all married men (AKA "Suffering Bastards") for allowing your husband this tantalizing taste of freedom. It would be an honor to obey you.

You write; "We have narrowed down our search to a Lagoon 39 from Footloose with ac/gen or a Lagoon 400s2 from Owner Time Charters-boat is supposedly at Dream. Both of these make me nervous for different reasons. Age and condition of boat at Footloose vs going through "Owner Time Charters"-Jenny Goya-Has anyone rented through them or know if this is a legit company?"

I am working this season with Jenny on my fourth charter with Dream Yachts. Have chartered with most companies, and owned a boat with TMM and CatCo.

Jenny is an absolute treasure. Have no fear- she is honest, ethical, and helpful. Last year she re-booked my group to Martinique from BVIs- even though we did not have trip insurance. Love the Jenny!